Persona: Beyond the Glass
by Rienfleche
Summary: When the wheel of fate begins to turn once more and mirrors suddenly become much more than a way of seeing your reflection, a new crop of Persona-users must rise up to the challenge and look beyond the looking glass and find the truth to the mystery of Itsunami. Original story set in the P3/P4 universe (but not related to either game per se), no longer accepting OCs.
1. Prologue: The Path to This Day

Before I begin, I'd like to note that this is my first real attempt at fanfiction.

This is an original story based loosely off of the Persona series, copyright of Atlus (which I do not own). However, though I have a setting and a general plotline already crafted in my head, I still need help in creating the cast of the fic. The template for OCs is below. Please note in advance that **I will only be accepting up to 10 protagonists, among them only one Wild Card. **However, if you wish to fill out the template in order to be a Social Link or otherwise, I will not place any restrictions on how many of those I accept; that being said, I will only likely utilize a few of these as well so as to have the main characters as Social Links as well.

There will likely be cameos from Persona 3 & 4 characters, however these will be scarce and will likely be worked in as minor occurrences during a larger plotline.

* * *

_**Prologue: The Path To This Day**_

_Though the people of the world acted as if nothing was going on with the planet they lived on and the society that they lived in, the reality was that nothing had ever truly been the same since that fateful night; January 31st, 2010._

_Despite many people's lack of recollection in regards to that day being in any way out of the ordinary, there was, in fact, something very peculiar that was meant to have happened on that fateful night: the end of the world as we know it._

_However, thanks to the largely unrecognized efforts of a group situated at the epicenter of the supposed apocalypse - the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S. for short - the end of the world was prevented. They did not do this alone, though; they were aided by a powerful force that most other humans would not be able to comprehend even now: the power of Persona. The manifestation of one's inner self, which grants them the power to fight against the force of various abominations known collectively as Shadows._

_Among them was a young teen named Makoto, who was granted the power of the Wild Card, the ability to use multiple Personae at a single time. His journey was the only one that ended on the night that the world was fated to cease, as he gave his life to preserve the lives of every other human on Earth._

_And aside from his comrades, nobody is even remotely aware of this fact. Those close to Makoto had hoped that the power he held would never again surface, but the wheel of fate is not so kind as to bend to their wishes again..._

* * *

_The town of Itsunami, located in the southeastern part of Japan merely two hours drive from the city of Nagoya, had begun to experience a change of it's own. The town was becoming much more modern; it has become a beacon to symbolize just how advanced Japan was as a collective nation and as a sign of things to come all over the world._

_The town's "restoration project" was being spearheaded by a group known only to the public as DynaLife, which prided itself on providing goods and services that would benefit the customer in any way they desired. The new-found economic boom that the town had been experiencing lead to the population soaring as many workers from all across Japan journeyed to the once-sleepy town in order to seek out new opportunities to revitalize their lives. Many of these workers brought their families as well, which prompted the establishment of the now-prestigious Torodara Preparatory, so as to give the many students in the town a place to learn._

_As DynaLife has become more personally involved with the town's revitalization and enhancement, a rumor has begun to spread among the students of Torodara. As the rumor goes, if you stare into a mirror at the moon's peak on any given night - not just on a full moon - you will be swept away by the object of your desires, and live a happy, long, peaceful and fertile life with them. These rumors have not only coincided with a number of strange disappearances in the town, but also a series of natural oddities for the town, such as heavy rain, harsh heat waves and even an earthquake, lending a certain mystery to the rumors and also causing great alarm amongst those who are more believing in things such as the supernatural._

_The wheel of fate has begun to turn yet again, as the azure butterfly makes it's rounds to find the one who can uncover the real truth and go beyond the looking glass into the truth beneath..._

* * *

So, as I said, I am wholly encouraging the submissions of OCs for this. If you send in a template using the Fool Arcana, I would honestly prefer a female main so as to provide a fresh take on the regular Persona story. The templates are as follows:

**Party Member (can also be for antagonists like Strega):**

Name:

Year at Torodara (first, second, third):

Gender:

Arcana (If Fool):

Initial Persona:

Initial Skillset (max. 8, no incredibly powerful skills such as Brave Blade or Agidyne)

Initial Resistances (one resistance, one weakness):

Evolved Persona:

Evolved Skillset (max. 8, this can be any skills you wish, although try to keep it relatively sane... no absurdly broken or unrealistic skillsets)

Evolved Resistances (either one null/one weakness, or two resistances/one weakness):

Physical Appearance:

Clothing (split between summer and fall/winter, unless otherwise indicated):

Personality (include likes, dislikes, fears, and whatnot in here):

Backstory (keep it brief, please):

Any Romantic Interest? (if yes, I'll PM you as to who you wish to be interested in):

Willing to die in-story? (for plot purposes, not just because people hate your character or something like that):

**Other OCs:**

Name:

Age:

Arcana (if you wish to be a Social Link, otherwise leave this blank):

Physical Appearance:

Clothing:

Personality:

Backstory:

Any Romantic Interest?:

Willing to die in-story?:

If a Social Link, when can your link be started?:

* * *

I'm hoping to start this story soon before I start college (namely, in a month), so if you guys could send me the OCs for this as soon as possible so I can narrow it down, I'd greatly appreciate it.

R&R the prologue, if you'd like. Hopefully it's not too terrible.


	2. Chapter 1: Velvet Underground

Sorry this took as long as it did. I've been busy of late.

I'm digging the response to my initial chapter, and I thank everyone for their OCs. I've already filled up the party, so thanks for that.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Velvet Underground**

_April 8th, 2014, 8:05 AM_

The sun kissed the ground as cars rumbled down the unusually quiet main street of Itsunami's shopping district. Shina Tachibana, a young girl just entering high school, looked out the window at the rapidly growing skyscrapers, that always seemed to be under construction for some reason or another. However, she had gotten quite used to the sight of a cityscape, living in Tokyo for most of her life prior to her moving away with her father to Itsunami. While she didn't mind living with only her father and younger sister - especially considering her mother's alcohol abuse - she did miss the many friends that she had left behind upon leaving Tokyo.

However, it also meant that she would have a great opportunity to advance academically, as she had been accepted into the prestigious Torodara Preparatory, to where she was on her way with her father (who had insisted on driving her despite their family not living more than a ten minute's walk from the school) and sister, who attended elementary school nearby. Shina had quickly grown tired of gazing out the window at the burgeoning city around her, and popped in her headphones to listen to some music quickly before she reached the school.

_'Let's see...'_ she began thinking to herself, sifting though the contents of her iPod as if she were seeing the names of the songs within for the first time._ 'What do I feel like listening to so that I can calm whatever nerves I've got towards starting school...?'_ She eventually found one of the songs that, despite the lyrics having nothing to do with high school, she felt would give her the best 'high' going into her new life as a high schooler - Back for More by Five Finger Death Punch.

Her father, meanwhile, hadn't even noticed Shina deciding to listen to her music and tried to begin a conversation with his eldest daughter.

"So, Shina, how does it feel to be going to one of Japan's newest and brightest schools? I imagine someone like you who has some trouble in finding her future path would enjoy coming to a school with the kinds of things that this place has," her father began. Shina, only just now noticing her father speaking - she presumed to her - removed her headphones and placed them gingerly around her neck.

"Hmm?" She replied, obviously somewhat unaware that she was being spoken to. "Sorry father... I had started listening to my music to try and calm my nerves... I'm actually a bit nervous about starting school here, not knowing anyone." Her father seemed very surprised to hear that, considering what kind of girl she usually was.

"What's this? My daughter, actually worried about something?" Mr. Tachibana joked, flashing the smile that Shina knew was meant to help calm her more than her music ever could - and usually, it worked. "I'm sure that a girl like you will fit in just fine with high schoolers, even ones who have been here all their lives."

Shina had a soft smile on her face upon hearing her father's words. It was true that she had the ability to be social, but that was back in middle school where people didn't care about looks; only about how they appreciated you as a person. She was by no means ugly; sure, her skin was pale and her hair was kind of messy and her curves just weren't there yet and _'oh god I can't do this oh god oh god'_

"Daddy, look! There's Shina-chan's new school!" Shina's sister cried out upon looking out her window, snapping her elder sister out of her thoughts almost as quickly as they had begun. Shina glanced out the window to see the building and was immediately awe-struck. The building, rather than being made out of the traditional brick of most schools, was actually crafted entirely with marble, giving it a grandiose shine that seemed to reflect for miles. Out front was a fountain that was almost as tall as their family's house, also crafted directly from marble. The centerpiece seemed to resemble Hachiko, the famed dog statue that Shina saw almost every time she visited Shibuya, only it looked much more majestic and regal, as if it were a king.

_'Wow... this is where I'm going to school? I have to say, a girl could get used to this.'_ Shina mused to herself, subconsciously grabbing her backpack and climbing out of their Toyota Accord to walk the last few steps into the school.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your new school, Shina." Her dad said, as Shina turned around to face back towards the car. "Remember to give me a call first if you're going to hang out with any new friends. I worry about you, you know."

Shina had another small smile on her face as she began walking backwards towards the school. "Don't worry, Dad," she called out, as she had begun to get too far for her regular voice to carry to him amid the hustle and bustle, "I'll make sure you're the first to know if I have a new friend here."

With that, Shina's father gave her a quick wave and drove off to drop off her sister at her own school. Before Shina got in, she noticed a highly energetic student carrying a large sign that, if she didn't know any better, had her own name on it. The next thing Shina knew, the student ran towards her, sign still in hand.

"Hi there! You must be Shina Tachibana, right?"the student asked. Shina had a hard time telling whether this student was male or female, considering their body type. She could make out some features well enough - somewhat skinny, like herself, dark red hair and brown eyes - but otherwise, she couldn't really tell anything about her. Shina also took notice of her black bag that had a small cord sticking out of it - judging by what was on the other end of it, she deduced it was a laptop bag of some sort.

"Um... I'm sorry, but..." Shina seemed a bit nervous and confused by this student's sudden kindness towards her. Although, she did have a sign in her hands that she was waving around as if to get attention, so maybe it wasn't unusual... somewhat. "Who are you again?"

The androgynous student gasped - rather femininely, leading Shina to figure out that, yes, this was a girl - and put a hand to her face. Shina could already feel her guilt, but decided not to say anything. "Oh my god, I am SO sorry. I never introduced myself!" the girl shouted, at a volume level that was just below normal for this point in the day. "I'm Miko Tabichou. Nice to meet you!"

Miko thrust out her hand, as if to invite Shina to shake it. She began to reach for it, but then felt a strange pulsing in her head, causing her to close her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, Shina could swear she saw the number '18' in Roman numerals floating above Miko's head. "H... ar.. .. o..y?" Shina barely heard, before she managed to compose herself enough to become fully responsive to the world around her once again

Shina shook her head violently as if to expel something from her mind, and to make sure that she had everything straight on her head. Just what was that all about? It made her head hurt all over again thinking about it, but she got a strange feeling that wouldn't be the last time something of that sort occurred to her today.

"Shina...?" Miko squeaked out. Shina jumped ever so slightly upon hearing it, as she had totally forgotten that Miko was still there after the strange sight that penetrated her mind. "Are you okay now? I hope that wasn't my fault." Miko looked down at the ground, almost feeling guilty. This in turn made Shina feel guilty, though for what she couldn't quite figure out.

"Heh, don't worry Miko." Shina responded, lightly ruffling her hair in the process. "I'm okay now." She quickly looked around to see if there were any others with numbers over their heads, but she couldn't find any. Perhaps it was just first-day jitters? Shina couldn't tell, but decided to drop the matter. "Come on, let's head inside."

* * *

As the two went inside the school, Shina took a moment to look at her surroundings - and immediately became awestruck by them. The ceilings were high and seemed to be made out of glass to allow the sunlight to beam down into the main foyer, which had several hallways shooting off from the center. The walls were an unusually bright white, but this was offset by the many banners hanging from the walls that wee most likely designed to increase school spirit.

"Come on, Shina-chan!"Miko suddenly cried out, snapping Shina out of her brief trance. "We have an assembly before classes start so that the principal can welcome all the new kids - like us!" Miko seemed oddly cheerful, though Shina supposed that it was endearing in a way. Shina eventually nodded, smiled, and walked with Miko towards the auditorium.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Torodara Preparatory Academy. My name is Chisamu Odaima, and I am the principal of this school."

Shina was surprised as how well the woman's voice could carry over the entire auditorium. Principal Odaima was not a big woman in stature by any means - while she was in no way small, however - but it seemed as if she exuded a sort of commanding aura that told people that she was a woman to be respected. Shina quickly glanced over to her left, watching Miko look at the principal in awe. Suddenly, they were both jostled by someone coming in behind them, settling in to a seat nearby.

"Sorry 'bout that." the male began. Shina turned to look at this new voice so she could match a face to it, and seemed as if she was looking at her self in a man's body. The student was shorter than most of the males around him, had messy hair and a largely unassuming build, and wore headphones around his neck - though unlike Shina's set, his were black. "I'm Shou Nishimura. Welcome to Torodara." he said, somewhat trailing off at the last part. Again, Shina suddenly felt a pulsing in her head, and saw the number eleven in Roman numerals above Shou's head.

This time, however, Shina was not feeling like she needed to jostle herself back into place. Instead, for whatever reason she began to feel tired, as if she had been peppered by the Sandman himself. She tried desperately to avoid falling asleep in her seat, but eventually felt her consciousness drift away as her eyes began to flutter shut...

* * *

Shina's eyes suddenly shot open, as if they had been forced that way by some strange force. She darted her head around, looking for some sort of clue as to where she was right now... but what she saw shocked her.

She had noticed that everything in the room had drastically changed - namely, rather than the auditorium that she was in before, she was instead in what appeared to be a dressing room for an actor in a stage production. Scattered around the room were several loose doors that seemed to lead to nowhere, prompting Shina to question why exactly they were there in the first place.

The other confusing thing for Shina was that everything in the room was blue in some manner. Some objects, such as the flowerpot sitting on a small table in the corner behind her left arm, were entirely blue, while other objects had only tinted blue. Shina was somewhat disturbed by this, but what disturbed her most were the next few words she heard, seemingly out of thin air... words that would forever change her life in Itsunami.

"Welcome... to the Velvet Room."

* * *

So, yeah. We've begun. Hope you're strapped in, cause shit's going to get interesting soon.

As always, R&R. And tune in next time.


	3. Chapter 2: All In The Cards

Alright, so I've finally got a new chapter.

As I'm sure you guys might expect, this chapter is largely concerning Shina's first visit to the Velvet Room. In addition, I'll be introducing a couple of new characters this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 2: All In The Cards**

Shina's eyes seemed to shoot right out of her head upon hearing the unusual voice. She hadn't expected somebody else to be in here with her, but then again, she didn't expect to be in this weird blue room in the first place. So, she sucked it up and turned towards the source of the voice, which, curiously enough to her, was right across from her.

There were two men sitting across from her, separated by only a large table used for god knows what. One of the men, who was sitting in a large chair that looked way more comfortable than the one Shina was currently occupying, was easily distinguishable as being... well, not normal. The thing that set him apart from most was that nose of his... it looked almost like Pinocchio's nose, only made out of actual flesh & bone instead of wood.

The man beside him - who Shina had just noticed, due to being almost sucked in by the other man's nose - was much more normal looking, aside from his golden eyes. His platinum-blonde hair was somewhat messy, giving him a more realistic vibe, and his attire was definitely stylish if nothing else - a dark blue sweater vest over a light blue dress shit, and simple blue dress pants.

"My name is Igor," the man with the long nose began, in a rather... unusual voice, to say the least. Shina seemed somewhat disturbed by the man's voice, but decided not to keep that issue in her mind for long. After all, she had other things to worry about. "This place exists between dream and reality; mind and matter. Now then... why don't you introduce yourself?"

Shina had the urge to simply say "no" and walk out, but two things stopped her. One, the fact that she had no clue which way out was; and two, something in the back of her head told her that would be a bad idea. Besides, all he seemed to want right now was to speak, and she wasn't exactly unwilling to her him out at the moment.

"My name... is Shina Tachibana." she eventually replied, much to the delight of Igor and the other man beside him, who gave a quick bow to Shina almost on cue with her finishing saying her name.

"Shina Tachibana... I am delighted to make your acquaintance," Igor resumed speaking as if he had never stopped in the first place. "Now then..." Igor suddenly pulled out a deck of cards. Was he... wanting to play poker or something? Shina had her doubts, but she still couldn't help but cock an eyebrow. "Let us take a look into your future... and see where our new guest will be taken to in the coming year."

Igor masterfully shuffled the deck, as if it required little more effort than tying one's shoelaces. Shina had to admit, she was very impressed by Igor's skills. But then she noticed the other man clear his throat, as if to remind both Shina & Igor of his continued existence. Naturally, Igor ignored him, but Shina did not. "Forgive me, but I don't think you've introduced yourself...?" she asked, or stated, she wasn't too sure which.

"Ah, forgive my general rudeness. My name is Gregory, milady," he said with a voice that seemed to ooze with flair and finesse. Shina couldn't help but be impressed by the way that he handled himself, but her attention quickly shot back to Igor, who had flipped over the top card from the newly shuffled deck. Shina had no real knowledge of the traditional tarot or it's meanings, but the card that Igor flipped over was very clear: arcana number thirteen, Death.

"Death, in the upright position." Igor calmly stated, as if trying to cause Shina even more stress. She was very visibly shivering at the thought that her future - most likely her immediate future - called for death. She knew she was going to die someday, but she didn't want that day to be soon. "Do not worry," Igor chided, "that card does not mean a physical death. Rather, it indicates a period of transition." Shina calmed down somewhat upon hearing those words, but she still didn't like the sound of that. Igor nonchalantly flipped over another card, which Shina could easily determine as well; arcana number eighteen, The Moon.

"The Moon, in the upright position." Igor once again stated, as if nothing was unusual. But then, he suddenly started to stroke his chin with a great interest, as if the card was actually telling him something. "Hmm... this card represents mystery. It appears as if you will need to solve a mystery within the next few months, or else..." Igor suddenly trailed off, leaving Shina with all sorts of questions as to what the hell he was talking about.

"Now then, our time here grows ever shorter." Igor suddenly said, changing the topic in the blink of an eye. "Before you go, know this: in the coming days, you will enter a contract of sorts. This contract will allow you to enter the Velvet Room of your own free will." Igor then materialized a key of sorts, seemingly out of nowhere. Shina grabbed the key and placed it in the pocket of her uniform's shirt. "Now, time marches on in your own world, and I am sure we will meet again soon. Until then..." Shina began to feel her head become light again, just as it had before. This time, however, she did not fight it, instead wholly embracing the caress of slumber.

"...Farewell."

* * *

_April 10th, 2014, 3:50 PM_

_Itsunami Memorial Hospital, D Wing_

"Oh good, she's waking up! I was worried that she was actually dead."

"You idiot, they made sure she had a heartbeat before they brought her in here. Otherwise, none of us would be in here right now."

Shina still felt a bit faint, but she managed to open her eyes for the first time in what felt like days. She was relieved to not be in the Velvet Room any longer, but she couldn't make out exactly where she was. The room had white walls and a lot of cupboards, and she noticed a strange machine beside her. Shina suspected it was to monitor her heartbeat, but she couldn't really tell.

She turned to her left and saw that she had something of a crowd waiting for her to wake up. On the far right, there was Miko, who was worried for her classmate and apparently hadn't stopped crying since she fell into her coma of sorts. To the far left was Shou, who looked more relieved than anything due to his belief that he had something to do with why she had passed out. Towards the middle, there was an unfamiliar girl right beside her, who Shina could tell was important. She had wavy orange hair, piercing blue eyes and a band on her right arm that signified... something, but of what she wasn't sure.

"Wh... where am I?" Shina sputtered out. It was the first thing she had thought to ask, right after "Where the hell did that creepy old guy go?", but she chose to avoid that question for now. Shou was the one who stepped forward and decided to indulge her curiosity.

"You're in the hospital right now," he began, running his hand through his hair as he spoke. Shina noticed a hint of nervousness in his voice, as if he was scared to tell her... or scared of what he did to her. Shina wanted to tell him he wasn't at fault for what happened to her, but she just couldn't find the right words to express it. "You've been out cold for two days. God, Miko hasn't stopped since, and I haven't been able to eat..."

_'Two days?!'_ she thought to herself, trying her best not to physically scowl and possibly upset Shou even more. _'Just what the hell did Igor and Gregory do that knocked me out cold for two days?'_ Then she remembered something else, that Shou just said. _'Wait... he couldn't eat for two days? Why the hell would someone who just met me be so concerned about my well-being? Unless...'_ Shina suddenly turned a bit red at the thought, but chose not to say anything. At that point, the girl with the armband stepped forward, as if she needed to deliver some sort of important news to Shina.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you..." she said, with a hint of regret in her voice. Shina wasn't sure why though, considering she had never even met this person before in her life. "As the Student Council vice-president, I feel obligated to protect every student in the school, regardless of age or background." Shou rolled his eyes and mouthed _"Yeah right, you bitch, you only want to make yourself look good"._ The girl with the armband ignored it, but Shina was now buried deep in thought by that, _'Why would Shou have an issue with this girl? She seems nice enough...'_

The girl with the armband cleared her throat as if to place attention on herself once again, and continued. "Forgive my interruption, but I've neglected to introduce myself," she said, as if she had blinders on and spoke only to Shina. "My name is Machina Kurugoki Odaima... yes, the same Odaima as the principal of our school, just so we're clear." Shina raised an eyebrow to seem skeptical at first, but her demeanor made a bit more sense now; it was hereditary, it seemed, to be so serious.

"Nice to meet you, Machina." Shina replied, trying to seem as friendly as possible. She extended her hand for a handshake, which Machina did not take at first. Shina thought it was somewhat rude, but then started to wonder if it was because she wasn't used to people treating her nicely, or casually for that matter. Eventually, Machina did accept Shina's handshake... and then Shina felt that pounding in her head again. This time, the number three appeared over Machina's head in Roman numerals, which made Shina curious as to why they were Roman numerals and not traditional numbers.

"Anyways... I've come also to deliver an important bit of news to you." Machina stated, and bit her lip as she did so. Was she... hesitating? Was the news really so bad that she had to actually compose herself for a minute before telling her? Machina let out a deep breath and decided to get right to the point, "Effective immediately, you are to be moved to the Torodara dormitory so that we can keep a better eye on you and your health."

The words rang through Shina's head as she attempted to process everything. _'What?! Why would they need to move me to the dorms?'_ she thought, fidgeting with her blanket as the others looked on as if waiting for her reaction. _'I mean, I know I was asleep for two days, but that has nothing to do with my health...!'_ She cursed Igor and his assistant for what they did to her, both in mind and body.

"If it makes you feel any better," Miko suddenly piped up, startling Shou and Machina (although she didn't show it), "I'm in the dorms too, so we can hang out more often. And Shou-kun lives in the dorms too! Right, Shou-kun~?" she chimed, causing Shou to turn a slight shade of pink. Shina seemed somewhat confused by his reaction, but quickly caught the implication that Miko was hinting at, and slugged her arm.

"Dammit Miko, stop talking like that!" Shina yelled, taking Miko by surprise. But rather than her expression changing to one of guilt and regret for putting her friend in an awkward situation, she instead put on a sly grin. Shina now wished she could take back that last sentence, for she knew where Miko was going with this... and it wasn't good. Luckily, Machina stepped in to cut off any more humiliation for Shina.

"Tachibana, your things are already being transported to the dorm. Your father is already aware of this arrangement, albeit he is in no way supporting this decision... for that matter, my mother doesn't seem to like it very much either." Machina said, as Shou turned towards the door. Shina stood up, and realized that she needed to get changed; no need to be wandering around in a hospital gown if she didn't need to be in the hospital any longer.

"We'll go on ahead, then," Shou said, knowing what Shina was about to do. He grabbed Miko's arm and walked towards the door, with Miko having just the slightest bit of a pout on her face. Shina giggled slightly, but nobody seemed to catch it. "I'm sure Machina will take you to the dorm, so we'll meet you back there, alright?"

"Gotcha." Shina replied, rather bluntly. Shou had a quick smile on his face as he walked out, with Machina following suit. "I'll be waiting outside for you, Tachibana. Please, hurry and get changed so we can depart for the dorms." Machina stated - or, rather, commanded - as she walked out the door.

_'Sheesh, no wonder Shou seems to have a problem with her.' _Shina mused to herself as she got back into her regular outfit. _'But, now that I think about it, Shou seemed awfully concerned about me... I wonder if he's got any other motivations for that.' _Shina shook the thought from her head as if it were nothing. _'No, no... I shouldn't worry about that now. I have other things to worry about... like that 'contract' Igor was talking about... what did he mean by that?' _

Shina finished getting changed, grabbed her things and strolled out of the hospital room. True to her word, Machina was waiting just outside the door, tapping her foot ever so slightly as she waited. "Well then... shall we be off?" she asked, as the two walked down the hall towards the hospital's exit. Shina nodded, as the two flung open the doors to reveal a taxi waiting for them. Shina seemed impressed; the cab seemed to be a nicer car than the ones in Tokyo. She looked at the side and noticed a peculiar logo on the side, that of DynaLife. _'That's odd...' _she thought to herself, stroking her chin slightly as the two girls climbed into the back seat of the cab. _'Why would DynaLife sponsor the taxi service here?'_

Shina shook it off. Whatever questions she had were irrelevant right now; after all, she had another new home to adjust to.

* * *

As the cab slowed down, Shina turned her head towards Machina. "We're here, Tachibana." she stated, which prompted Shina to roll her eyes. _'Yes, I'm well aware... otherwise the cab wouldn't have stopped yet.' _she mused to herself, as if proud of her inner snark. When she climbed out of the cab, however, she was somewhat glad Machina had confirmed this was, in fact, their actual destination.

The building was massive; four stories high and likely several hundred thousand square feet. The outer walls were, like the rest of the school, crafted out of marble, while not looking totally tacky and tasteless. There were two small fountains flanking either side of the walkway leading up to the dorm, and the doors were made out of solid oak. Shina wondered just how the dorm looked on the inside of this was the outside of the dorm.

As Machina unlocked the door and flung it open, Shina was... admittedly underwhelmed. While the dorm's inside was nice, the decoration was a bit conservative for a building crafted out of marble. Nonetheless, it looked comfortable if nothing else, so Shina seemed content. At the very least, it didn't look like the inside of a dumpster.

"Shina-chan!" Shina heard a voice cry out, but any attempt to respond was cut off by Miko suddenly barreling down the hall and giving her a big hug. "Welcome to the Torodara dorms!" Miko exclaimed in a rather showy tone of voice. As Shina came in further, she noticed Shou, face buried in a magazine of sorts, although what magazine it was he didn't know. Opposite Shou was another new face - judging by his uniform, he was a first year much as Shina was. His hair was unnaturally grey - although she did know of some people who had that hair color at a young age - and a thin build that still managed to look somewhat athletic. The unfamiliar boy turned his head and gave a quick smile, allowing Shina to notice his light blue eyes - which made for an interesting contrast to his grey hair.

"Welcome." The new boy sang out, as he stood up to greet Shina with a friendly handshake. She noticed that the emphasis was on 'shake'; this boy was clearly nervous about something. Was it Shina, or was it the fact that he was in a group? "My name is Daisuke Yagami. Like you, I'm a first-year." he stated, which confirmed a couple of things for Shina.

"Pleased to meet you, Dai...suke..." Shina replied, trailing off as she noticed the large mirror on the left wall of the dorm. Something about it was... calling out to her, but she wasn't sure what was going on. Miko suddenly got a lot more nervous watching her friend in the near trance-like state that she was in, as Daisuke slipped back upstairs, his greeting done, in order to get away from the group.

"Shina-chan...?" Miko suddenly asked, snapping Shina out of her trance. Shina's eyes bugged out of her head for a moment, as if they were physically glued to the large mirror in the foyer. _'Why would this mirror be so important that I lost myself in it...?'_ Shina wondered to herself, before walking over to Miko.

"Don't worry Miko, I'm fine. You're not going to lose your friend to a coma again." Shina reassured Miko, which allowed her to flash that big smile that she always wore. _'She reminds me a lot of my little sister... in a good way, that is.' _Shina mused to herself, as Shou decided to throw his two cents into the conversation, as if trying not to feel left out somehow.

"Your room's upstairs. We've got your things somewhat sorted out, but you'll need to finish that on your own." Shou stated calmly, then turned his head away, looking directly at the stairs. "The dorm's divided into two main parts; me & Daisuke are on the second floor, along with this other second-year who hates everyone," he suddenly scoffed at the mere mention of that person, "and you, Miko & Machina are on the third floor." Shou then paused for a moment to think, before continuing. "Oh yeah, I forgot. There is one more guy living in the dorm... again, a second-year. I don't know if he's here, though..."

Shina cut Shou off by putting a finger on his mouth, as if telling him to shush. "Save it. Now, can you show me where exactly my room is, Shou?" Shina asked, which she immediately regretted due to Miko being right there still.

"Ooh, you're so forward, Shina-chan!" Miko giggled prompting Shina to turn bright pink and run up the stairs. _'Dammit Miko!' _she thought as she ran up the stairs to the third floor. _'I don't feel that way about Shou-san! ...Do I?'_ She dropped her bags for a moment once she reached the third floor, and rubbed her eyes. _'Dammit... I'm not thinking straight. I should just get some rest... at least, some actual rest, and not being in a coma.'_

Shina grabbed her bags off the floor and walked down the hallway, looking at the doors in the hallway to see if she could find her name. Once she got to the end of the hall, she noticed a nameplate on the farthest door that said 'S. Tachibana, 1st Year' on it, indicating that she had found her room. She quickly opened the door, dropped her bags onto the floor, and fell into the first legitimate sleep she'd had in days.

* * *

I'm totally not shipping people. I swear.

So yeah, we now have two new characters fully introduced, with two more being mentioned to lay the groundwork for their debuts. Next chapter will likely see the initial mention of the Mirror World, and the contract. No guarantees on Shina's awakening being next chapter, though.

As always, R&R, and tune in next time.


	4. Chapter 3: Looking Glass

Welp. New chapter time, I suppose. College starts in a few days for me, so hopefully I can do up at least two more chapters by then. If not, then... well, hopefully I'll be able to keep up.

Anyways, more introductions and a wee bit of exposition. The action will most likely be next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Looking Glass**

_April 11th, 2014, 7:45 AM_

_Torodara Domitory, 3rd Floor_

Alarm bells rang through the air as Shina groggily woke up from her peaceful slumber - the first real sleep she had in days. In truth, while she didn't mind being in the dorm and living with her new friends, she really just wanted to get an actual sleep and not one that was brought on by some weird supernatural force. Either that, or stress kicked in big time and her body just went into safe mode.

_'Bah, I don't want to think about that right now._'Shina thought to herself as she slowly rolled out of bed. After a quick check of the clock, she suddenly went much quicker than before. _'Crap! I'm gonna be late!'_ Shina raced to get ready, rapidly grabbing clothes and debating whether or not to put on makeup. She was so busy getting ready, she failed to notice the note that had apparently been slid underneath her door. She bent down to pick it up, and quickly figured out who sent it. _'Machina... who else would write in fancy cursive like this?'_ Shina thought as she quickly skimmed through the note.

_Tachibana, I've had you medically excused for the day. I thought you might like some real rest._

_-Machina_

"Ugh..." Shina groaned as she opened the door to her bedroom; she supposed that if she had been excused from school, she didn't need to get dressed up. She quickly pivoted to go down the hallway, but barely made it two steps before tripping on something. _'What the...'_ she thought as she turned to see exactly what it was she tripped over...

It was Shou, who had apparently passed out on the ground just outside of her door. Shina wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole situation; on the one hand, she thought that maybe he was a pervert or closet serial killer and had tried to wait for her to leave her room last night so he could make her his next victim. On the other hand - and Shina preferred this explanation - Shou was a legitimate nice guy and decided to make sure that she wasn't disturbed while she was getting some rest. Suddenly, she heard him start to wake up... or, at least, she assumed he was waking up.

"Nngh..." Shou moaned out, fluttering his eyes open and cracking his neck. Apparently he was a bit uncomfortable sleeping in the hallway, but Shina figured that much was to be expected. Shou quickly looked down the hall, directly at Shina... and proceeded to turn as red as a tomato. _'No, scratch that,_'Shina mused, _'a tomato isn't even that red.'_

"W-w-what the hell are you doing out of bed?!" Shou asked with a start. Shina noticed that his expression had changed from that of a sleepy person to someone who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and giggled lightly.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you get flustered." She replied, flashing Shou a playful smile. To say that he got a bit redder from that would be an understatement; his face looked like the surface of Mars, if it were more smooth and... well, looked like a face. _'Heh, he does look cute when he's like this... oh god, I hope Miko's not nearby...'_ Shina started to look worried as well; her friend would never let her hear the end of it if she heard that Shina had called Shou cute in any aspect, let alone out of the context that it was in. Shou must have caught that, and started to seem more calm, much more like his usual self.

"Don't worry about Miko..." he answered, seemingly reading Shina's mind, yet at the same time calming her down. "She already left for sure, although Machina and Daisuke had to damn near drag her out..." he let out a soft chuckle after finishing, as if he was slowly lightening up. Shina felt relieved at that; she really worried Shou when she just collapsed like that right in front of him, but she couldn't help it, or tell him that it wasn't his fault. She figured she needed more courage for that.

Shou eventually got up and turned to leave, before stopping as if he had just remembered something. "Oh yeah..." he muttered as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his blazer pocket, hastily handing it to Shina before taking off down the hall. She looked at the departing Shou with great curiosity, wondering why he ran off the way that he did, then opened the paper up. Shina breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a standard dormitory contract. She walked into her bedroom to sign it before she remembered what Igor had said to her.

_"In the coming days, you will enter a contract..." _his distinct voice ran through her mind as if echoing her very thoughts. _"This contract will allow you to enter the Velvet Room of your own free will."_ Shina thought carefully about the whole thing, wondering if this was what he meant. Sure, everything about that room seemed suspicious, and nothing that's happened to her so far this year has made any sense. But on the other hand...

Shina then remembered what Igor had said about her future. _'A mystery...'_ she pondered to herself, tapping a pen against the surface of her desk. _'Just what could that mean? Could that weird feeling I got when I saw that big mirror downstairs have anything to do with it?'_ Shina ruffled her hair, possibilities as to just what was really going on swirling through her head. Then, without any sort of second warning, she signed the dormitory contract and pulled the Velvet Key out of her pocket.

_'Whatever is going on... I intend to find out. And this will help me do it.'_

* * *

After finishing cleaning herself up and gathering her things into her backpack, Shina managed to drag herself to afternoon classes, in part so she could see her new friends again. _'The dorm gets kind of lonely when you're out sick...'_ she thought as she strode into her classroom. The first thing she noticed was Miko & Daisuke sitting close together, near an empty seat which Shina had assumed was for her. She nonchalantly strode towards the desk and sat down, without Miko apparently even noticing. Daisuke, however, did manage to catch Shina coming in and offered a welcoming smile.

"Welcome back..." he said rather calmly, which prompted Miko to turn over towards Shina with a big, warm smile plastered on her face. _'Heh, looks like Miko missed me.'_ Shina mused to herself while Daisuke seemingly finished putting together the rest of his sentence. "I had thought that you were going to take the day off, though? Machina-senpai and Masaru-senpai seemingly figured that you would need it."

"Who's this 'Masaru-senpai' you're talking about, Daisuke-kun?" Shina asked, wracking her brain to figure out if she had met someone at the dorm named Masaru last night. Daisuke caught his error and seemed... embarrassed? Shina managed to catch Daisuke blushing - or, at least, it looked like he was blushing - and wondered just why he would do that.

"Ah... that's right..." Daisuke managed to say before he burned up again. Miko naturally would not let this slide, but she was held back from speaking before Daisuke could finish. "Masaru-senpai is a bit... eh... anti-social. He wasn't much in the mood for introductions last night." Shina wondered if he was the one who Shou had described as if he was disgusted with him, but she figured she would ask later. Miko wanted to pipe up, seemingly going into matchmaker mode again, but before she could, a short, somewhat old, ugly-looking bald man waddled into the room and stood front and center to gather the class's attention.

"Attention, students. My name is Kimo Mitami, and I shall be your afternoon teacher... your school coach, if you will." he initially commanded, but with the statement seemed to degenerate into a welcome before it was done. Shina seemed rather perplexed by his speech patterns, but chose not to say anything. "You know, school is a lot like baseball..."

Shina groaned quietly enough that Mr. Mitami wouldn't hear her. She hated baseball with a passion - she suspected she got that from her dad, considering her mom didn't even know what baseball was - so she simply decided to tune him out. As she did, she felt a wave of tiredness rush over her, and moaned softly as if to say "not again..." before she passed out.

* * *

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, Miss Tachibana."

Shina woke up with a start. The blue all around her... that weird voice... the demure man sitting next to the source of the weird voice... Shina groaned, then noted she was doing that a lot today. She had been forcibly brought back into the Velvet Room. "Ugh... is this going to knock me out for another two days, Igor?"

Igor simply chuckled, as only he could. Shina shuddered, since she thought his laugh was genuinely creepy. "Not this time, Miss Tachibana. I merely wished to tell you that you have now signed your contract and have gained full access to the Velvet Room." Shina breathed a sigh of relief, but then seemed somewhat concerned, as if she would need to come back for whatever reason.

"By the way..." Shina asked, curious of one more thing before she left. "Just what exactly do you two do here, anyways?" Shina had figured that Igor would just tell her so that she knew what not to need, ever, but she was somewhat shocked to hear his actual answer.

"When your power awakens fully... then you will know." he said, as Shina felt the blue of the Velvet Room fade back into her subconscious. She hoped that Igor wasn't lying about this not taking too long in her world, or else she was going to forcibly return and put her foot through his withered head. "Until then... farewell."

* * *

Rather than being woken up by a fellow classmate, Shina was instead jostled back into the world of the awake by a loud bell, which she assumed meant the end of the school day. Miko came up to her desk and knelt down so that she was back at around eye-level with Shina.

"Mornin', sunshine." Miko joked, as Shina yawned and rubbed her eyes to make sure that she was, in fact, fully awake and not just bugging out again. "You sure do sleep a lot..." Miko seemed genuinely concerned, and seemed as if she wanted to say something else, but she decided to hold it back. After a brief moment of silence, Daisuke walked back into the classroom with another student - a second-year, based on his uniform.

"Shina-chan, this is Masaru Ugaki." Daisuke said as he reached Shina's desk. Shina took a quick moment to size him up, and figured that if Masaru was the one who hated everyone like Shou said, he certainly didn't look it. He was generally average in his build, though Shina did note he seemed a bit bulky in both meanings of the world. His hair was very much like hers, and he sported a pretty nice goatee - and Shina knew her goatees, considering her father was formerly a barber by trade prior to moving out here.

"Hey, nice to meet'cha." Masaru said, as he stuck out his hand. Shina confidently shook it, and received a familiar pulsing in her head for her troubles. As was the norm for the pain, she looked at Masaru - and, curiously enough, Daisuke as well - and noticed a number above their heads. Masaru's was the number IX, while Daisuke had the number XII above his head. _'Ugh... what do these goddamn numbers mean?!'_ Shina thought before she composed herself. "So, I heard you've already snagged Shou-san... I gotta say, you work fast." Masaru joked. Shina's face felt like it was burning up as Miko burst into hysterics and Daisuke had to use all of his willpower to stifle a chuckle.

"W-w-w-wh-what?!" Shina finally managed to sputter out, face still bright red out of embarrassment. "Where did that come from?! Who said anything like that?!" Masaru ended up laughing as well, though not as much as Miko did. Shina shot a glare at Miko, knowing that obviously she had said that to Masaru. _'Not that I wouldn't mind... ACKWHATAMISAYINGICAN'TTHINKTHAT'_ Shina had thought rather incoherently, before Masaru gave her a pat on the back to try and calm her.

"Relax..." he said, much more seriously than his last statement. Shina took a deep breath to try and compose herself, prompting a big grin from Masaru. "Heh, I can tell I'm going to like you. You've got something about you that kinda makes a guy feel warm and fuzzy inside... not, like, in the loving way, but... y'know..." Masaru ruffled his hair and let out a quiet chuckle, as Daisuke smiled without saying a word.

"Oh Masaaaaaaaaaaaaaruuuuuuuuuuuuuu~" an unknown voice cooed out from the hallway as another second-year strolled into the room. The four students turned towards the door with varied expressions on their faces; Shina's curious expression, Miko's look of wonder and awe, Daisuke's usual gentle smile, and Masaru's... fear? Worry? Shina looked over at Masaru before, in one smooth motion, he grabbed a book off of Shina's desk and held it to his face, as if protecting himself from the girl.

Shina had to wonder why he would be so afraid of this girl; from what Shina could tell just by looking at her, most guys would be bending over backwards to try and catch a glimpse of someone like her. She was somewhat short - but still taller than the first-year girls in front of her - with long blonde hair and striking green eyes. The real standout for this girl was her... measurements, which made her stand out from the rather small Shina & Miko. She was wearing the school's regulation jacket, but Shina could see the shirt underneath which seemed to proclaim "I 3 Anime!" to the world.

"Back, temptress!" Masaru yelled with a great deal of exaggeration, prompting the girl to have on an equally faked smile. "Your honeyed words will not get you what you want from me!" Daisuke couldn't stifle his laugh that time, and Miko and Shina both let out chuckles as well. Masaru seemingly sweat-dropped from all the laughs his performance was garnering, but chose not to say anything so as to not give 'the temptress' an opening.

"Calm down, Masaru," the girl, who had walked over to Masaru as he put on his display, calmly said, in stark contrast to the cooing she had done before. "I'm not going to rip anything off, I swear. I just wanted to tell you something important. Now, can you put the book down and introduce me to your new friends?" Masaru grudgingly obliged, as the girl jokingly ruffled his hair. "Good boy."

"Get outta my hair!" Masaru snapped, which seemed to catch Daisuke - but not Masaru's friend - off guard. "Anyways... this _otaku_ here is Lucy Hasukashi. She's a second-year, like me. We both lived in the same hometown until she moved away with her dad a few years ago, and since then she's come back to _torment me_." Lucy stomped on his foot after that last dig, prompting Masaru to yelp in pain. "Yeowch! Jeez, Luce-tan, I was just joking..."

"Jerk." Lucy whined while sticking her tongue out at Masaru. She then seemingly shrank back from the others, which Shina thought was kind of cute... well, as cute as she could find a girl anyways. "Nice to meet you all. And yes, I am an otaku." She turned back towards Masaru with a serious look on her face. "Anyways, about that thing I was going to tell you..."

Another pulsing in Shina's head. This one seemed stronger than the last one, as it actually made her double over in pain, shocking Miko & Daisuke. When she managed to stand up - with a little help from Miko - she noticed the number II above Lucy's head. Shina started to wonder just how the numbers were connected to everything going on, but was cut off from thinking by the sudden feeling that she was getting hugged. Shina looked over quickly to see Miko was hugging her rather tightly, for some reason, prompting a joking whistle from Masaru and another stomp to the foot by Lucy.

"Are you gonna be okay and stay with... us... again if I keep hugging you?" Miko asked, with a distinct quiver in her voice. Shina heard that hesitation partway through; was Miko about to say 'stay with _me_'? Daisuke looked worried, and ran off to get help - at least, that's what Shina thought he was doing - while Masaru & Lucy looked on, wondering what exactly was going on.

"U-um... okay..." Lucy broke the silence in the room, and then slammed her hands onto the desk in front of her. "So! Have you guys heard about that mirror rumor that's been going around lately?" Shina seemed puzzled, and stood up to ask exactly what she was talking about, but Masaru cut her off before she had the chance.

"Luce-tan... not here." Masaru said rather darkly, which worried Shina. "Let's wait until we get back to the dorm." Shina was a bit confused; this girl Lucy was a dormmate? If so, why didn't Shina meet her last night, and for that matter, why did Shou not mention her?

"Yeah... let's do that." Miko suddenly chimed in, having finally let go of Shina and walking towards the classroom door. "Shina-chan needs to sit down, and I think it'll be more comfortable that way." Shina seemed shocked by Miko's suggestion; was she actually showing signs of logic? "Plus, I need to introduce you to Shina-chan's boyfrieeeeeeeeeeeeeend~"

"MIKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shina yelled as the two ran out the classroom door, Masaru & Lucy following close behind them.

* * *

After the four had reached the dorm, they settled into their spots of choice on the lounge furniture - Masaru & Miko on the couch near the back wall, Shina on the opposite couch (staring daggers at Miko, who only responded with her usual playful smile) and Lucy in the chair on the end closest to the dorm's front door.

"Alright Lucy-chan..." Shina began, with Lucy giving a playful giggle at her apparent new nickname, "what is it you were going to tell us earlier? Something about a rumor...?"

"Alright, so..." Lucy began, with Masaru and Miko leaning forward in anticipation (which Shina suspected was exaggerated). "The rumor goes a little something like this: apparently, if you look into a mirror when the moon is at it's peak, with your right hand on the mirror's pane, while whispering the name of the person you love three times, that person will appear in the mirror and whisk you away to live out your wildest fantasies." Shina rolled her eyes, thinking that it would be something that would actually matter. Apparently, Lucy caught this and simply said "I'm not done."

Lucy continued on. "Now, normally most people would dismiss this as just another urban legend, like Sadako or that Bloody Mary rumor from the West," she stated, which gradually started to perk Shina's curiosity. "But these have also coincided with a number of weird disappearances in the last few weeks since the rumor began." That got Shina's attention for good. _'A strange rumor? People disappearing? Sounds like a mystery... was that what Igor was talking about last time?'_ she wondered to herself as Miko & Masaru exchanged confused looks as silence briefly fell over the group.

"I think we should test that out." Shina boldly declared, breaking the silence that had formed over the four teens. All three of her companions was sporting a different expression in response; Lucy had a confused look on her face, but seemed to accept that idea as something she could get behind, Miko looked as if she was about to burst from excitement, and Masaru seemed shocked that Miko would buy into something like this. His expression quickly changed into one of defeat after seeing Miko & Lucy's faces.

"Ughhhhhhhhh... alright, I'm in." Masaru sighed, putting a wide grin on Miko's face and a playful expression on Lucy's. Shina nodded curtly, as the four began to ready themselves after a quick check of the clock. "Wait a minute," Masaru suddenly piped up, causing the three girls to turn back towards him. "If this does work, then I wanna be ready." With that, he went up to his room, as the three girls plopped down on the couches once more.

After a few minutes, Masaru returned with a few items that looked suspiciously like weapons. One was a simple baseball bat, which he quickly grabbed for himself, one was a simple staff, that, upon further inspection, could actually split into three sections, which Lucy had grabbed - whilst yelling "HEY HEY HEY!" for reasons that only a groaning Masaru seemed to know - while the other three objects looked like short swords, though one was larger than the other two. Shina grabbed the two smaller ones, thinking that she could use her quickness and small stature to take full advantage of them. Miko looked nervous upon seeing the blade on the table, but grudgingly grabbed it and walked over to the mirror.

"So..." she began, her voice quivering just as it did back at school. "Who wants to try it out first?" Shina stood up and walked slowly towards the mirror. If this did have something to do with Igor and the Velvet Room, she was determined to find out. Miko simply nodded as Masaru and Lucy slowly made their way over to the mirror, weapons in hand. Shina placed her hand on the mirror and gazed directly at it... but something felt wrong.

"S-S-S-Shina c-c-chan..." Lucy stuttered as she pointed towards what appeared to be Shina's right arm. Shina also noticed that Masaru & Miko were sporting expressions of worry similar to the one that Lucy had, so she quickly glanced over to see what was wrong... and immediately understood why Lucy seemed to be so disturbed. Shina's right arm was almost completely in the mirror, as the pane was rippling as if it were water.

"Holy... girls, quick, help me pull her out of there!" Masaru yelled as all three teens grabbed hold of Shina and began to pull in an attempt to get her out of the mirror she had no business being in. Instead, however, Shina felt herself being sucked in as if being pulled inwards by an unknown force, and eventually her entire body, along with those of her three friends, were pulled through the looking glass inside the mirror.

* * *

Let's play spot the fighting game reference! :D

Masaru's also probably going to resemble Junpei in terms of how he acts around his friends during the fic, with Lucy as something of a cross between Yukari & Ryoji in relation to her friendship with him.

Thanks for the reviews so far, everyone. I'm still looking for a few social links (Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Devil & Tower), so if you'd like to be one of those links, fill out the Social Link application located in the prologue.

As always, R&R. Action-y shit next chapter, with at least one person getting a Persona. Also a robot will be involved. Just trust me on this one.


	5. Chapter 4: The True Self

Alright, welp. College is going good so far. I'm gonna be updating a lot less, though, so be warned.

May or may not get to the actual first battle just yet, but... awakenings will occur.

* * *

**Chapter 4: The True Self**

Shina heard only a loud 'thud' as her fall through the mirror subsided. She still couldn't really grasp just what was going on; after all, she had just put her hand through her hand through a mirror and dragged Miko, Masaru & Lucy down with her. And with all that stuff about the Velvet Room and the contract that she signed... Shina couldn't help but think that all of this was connected.

Shina stood up and rolled her head as if to stretch it out. The landscape around her was the first thing she noticed, and to be honest, she wasn't sure how she missed it. What Shina and her friends found themselves in looked almost like the funhouse from hell; some of the mirrors were cracked, and Shina could swear blood was splattered on the floor.

"Ugh... what the hell happened just now?" Masaru groaned out, sitting up, having just regained consciousness after he took the long fall that the others did. Miko & Lucy followed suit, both of them managing little more than pained moans. As soon as the three saw their surroundings, Lucy & Masaru had fully found their voices and proceeded to scream and yell as if they actually had fallen into hell.

"Holy..." Miko sputtered out. She was obviously the most shaken up by everything that was going on, despite the fact that she wasn't showing it as much as Masaru & Lucy were. "Shina-chan, what happened? We were in the dorm, and then..."

"I know, Miko." Shina responded, trying to see if she could listen and figure out if anything else was in there with them. Shina dug through her uniform's jacket and found the twin blades that Masaru had supplied beforehand. _'So that rules out this whole thing being a dream...' _Shina thought to herself, as Miko dug out the longer shortsword she had been given by Masaru. Shina turned around and noticed the fear on Miko's face, and gave her a reassuring smile as if to tell Miko that she would keep her safe. Meanwhile, behind them, Masaru and Lucy had managed to calm each other down as Masaru bent over to grab the baseball bat that he had found on the ground.

"What are you people doing here. Question mark." Shina suddenly heard a monotonous, almost robotic voice from behind her, which set Lucy off again, jumping into Masaru's unsuspecting arms, sending him crashing to the floor. Likewise, Miko had let out a frightened yelp and clung to Miko similar to earlier that day... assuming it was the same day as it had been when they went through the mirror in the first place.

"W-who's there? Show yourself!" Shina shouted, pointing the sword in her left hand towards the voice's source. Miko peeked out from behind Shina, clearly still shaken up by everything that was going on around her. Suddenly, they both heard an odd creaking sound - as if something was rolling towards them on aged wheels - as Shina and Miko both kept their eyes glued on the dark hallway of the supposed funhouse they were in.

"Who are you. Question mark." the voice rang out again, as the source of both the voice and the creaking sound seemed to be getting closer. Shina started to wonder if the voice and the creaking weren't from the same thing, and after a brief moment more, she found that she was exactly right. Masaru & Lucy had both composed themselves - again - and rejoined Miko & Shina, somewhat awestruck by what was in front of them.

"Masaru! Look! A Robodian!" Lucy cried out as Miko looked back towards them and Masaru simply facepalmed. Shina seemed a bit confused; after all, she had never even heard of Robodians before.

"Luce-tan, don't be stupid." Masaru replied in a rather deadpan manner. Shina took a closer look at the strange figure in front of them, and figured out that, yep, it was a robot. She still had no clue of what a Robodian was, though.

"I am unsure of what you mean by that statement, female." the robot had responded, as Miko still looked very shocked and scared of the robot in front of her - although Shina had figured that was mainly due to the fact that they had fallen into some sort of hellish mirror world. The weird robot decided to ignore Lucy to the moment and press on. "My name is..."

"Wait, I know!" Masaru suddenly piped up, much to the chagrin of the strange robot - assuming he could feel something like that. Shina had a hard time figuring out whether or not robots had emotions, especially if they were in hellish worlds that seemed to manifest behind a mirror. "We should give him a new name!" The robot seemed confused... at least, as confused at it could be. Shina decided that she just didn't care anymore, as Masaru looked as if he was thinking about something very intently. "We can call you... Toma!"

Shina couldn't help but chuckle at Masaru's poor naming skills, despite the fact that she had no idea he was making a reference. Lucy simply shook her head in disgust - and, if Shina didn't know any better, disappointment. "Masaru, we are not giving him a name that references Shining Force." she stated rather matter-of-factly, making Masaru pout in mock sadness. Miko, meanwhile, walked up to one of the many mirrors surrounding the group and decided to check out her reflection. What she saw instead caused her to shriek and back away quickly from the mirror, causing Shina to rush over to her with Masaru & Lucy following close behind.

"Miko!" Shina cried out as she reached Miko, who was now leaned against another mirror that was directly behind her. Masaru, Lucy and even the strange robot all came following behind her, as Miko continued to stare at the mirror in shock - though, Shina noticed there wasn't much horror on her face. "What's wrong? What did you see in that mirror?"

Miko stood up slowly and placed her hand on the mirror in front of her, as Shina looked into the mirror to see if she could figure out who - or what - Miko had just seen. What she saw was something that she just could not believe. Rather than looking into the mirror and seeing herself and Miko's reflections staring back at her, what Shina saw was a large, almost threatening-looking man in his late thirties, wearing a crisp black suit - though not a tuxedo, as Shina had originally thought - and extending his hand out to Miko. However, Shina also noticed that his eyes were glowing a horrific yellow, almost looking unnatural... as if he weren't entirely human.

"Daddy...?" Miko quietly murmured out as she reached out to take his hand. Shina instinctively grabbed her other arm as if to try and hold her back, but Miko continued walking towards the mirror. "Oh Daddy, it really is you, isn't it?! You came back for me after all!" Miko exclaimed in pure joy as she eventually shook off Shina's grasp and dashed towards the mirror, leaping right through it in the same manner that they had ended up in this world in the first place.

"Miko-chan!" Shina screamed as she saw Miko willingly leap through a mirror. Masaru and Lucy were unsure of what exactly was going on - and, to be fair, Shina was too. However, she knew that she had to do something about it, one way or another. _'This whole business with the mirrors... the Velvet Room... my constant headaches, and those weird numbers... they must all be connected to what just happened with Miko. I have to do something.'_ With that, Shina boldly stepped forward, glared right into the mirror, and then turned back towards Masaru, Lucy and the strange robot. "Guys, I'm going in."

"What?!" Masaru and Lucy both cried out. Neither of them could believe what they were hearing; after all, one of their friends just walked right into a mirror again, this time of her own accord, and now another one was about to do the same? It didn't make any sense to either of them. "You can't be serious! You could get killed if you go through that mirror!" Masaru yelled in an attempt to persuade Shina from going off like Miko did, but Shina merely shook her head and drew the two knives she had from before, taking care not to point them as Masaru.

"And if I don't go through that mirror, then I have the feeling that Miko _will_ die." Shina said bluntly, eliciting a shocked gasp from Lucy and a speechless look of fear and shock on Masaru's face. Shina gazed over to the end of the hallway and noticed something odd... a large pile of ivory, or at least something that appeared to be ivory. Almost on cue, the robot from before stepped forward as if to explain just what they were.

"Those are actually skeletons, madam." the robot monotonously stated. Shina's tough facade cracked just a little; she was right, Miko _was_ in serious danger now, and she had to do something. Masaru and Lucy seemed to have all of the wind knocked right out of them; they both simply sank towards a nearby mirror and looked at each other with worry and doubt. Shina walked back over to the mirror that Miko had walked into, and took a deep breath. Before she was able to step through the looking glass and find out just what was going on with Miko, she found the robot tugging at the skirt of her uniform. "Forgive me, but I would like to let you know that I am capable of analyzing things within this environment. I cannot aid you if combat comes up, though, unless it is in analyzing an enemy's weaknesses. Also, my name is Chet. Proud expression."

Shina had a smile on her face that, while genuine, just didn't seem right on her at that particular time. That would be very useful, to be sure, especially if Shina's gut feeling that whoever - or whatever - Miko's 'father' was didn't wish to give up Miko without some sort of resistance. "Thank you, uh... Chet. Please, though, stay out here and make sure nothing happens to Lucy & Masaru, okay?"

"Yes madam. Exclamation mark." Chet replied, and Shina took that as her cue to move forward. She turned towards Masaru and Lucy, who could only mutter out a few light words of encouragement before they both passed out from the shock; Shina wasn't too surprised at this considering she had almost done the same. _'Still... I have to do this. I can't lose my friend... not like this.' _Shina thought to herself as she strode through the mirror, not knowing what lay ahead.

* * *

When Shina eventually reached the other end of the strange sort of portal that the mirror seemed to be, she was nearly dumbfounded by what she saw. In front of her was an enormous mansion, likely filled with many rooms that meant Miko could be anywhere. _'Great...' _Shina cursed under her breath and strode towards the mansion, the door swinging open as soon as she reached the top step. Before stepping inside, Shina looked to the sky and found that, rather than a pleasant shade of blue, it had become a hideous blood-red, with the clouds all tinted a jet black hue. She shuddered quickly, then steeled herself and walked inside the house, which, while it wasn't as big as it looked outside, was still quite large.

"Oh Daddy, I'm so glad you came back for me!" Shina heard a voice call out - she could immediately tell it was Miko - but just couldn't figure out where it was coming from. "Where were you for all those years, anyways?"

"Oh Miko honey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," the other voice - Shina figured it was Miko's 'father' through process of elimination - replied. Shina could quickly tell that something was very off about the voice; it sounded mostly normal, but it seemed heavily distorted, though Shina had also thought that may be because of where they were in the house in relation to her. "I had to take a long business trip... one thing led to another, and I ended up stuck out west for years."

"It's okay now, Daddy... you're here again, and I've got so much I want to tell you! I have friends for you to meet, a new school for you to see..." Miko started rambling excitedly, as Shina began racing up the stairs. For all the size that the mansion's exterior seemed to portray, the inside was not as large as Shina thought it would be, as she quickly made it up to the top floor of the mansion as Miko continued her rambling.

"Hahah... well, you'll have to tell me later, dear." the second voice replied, as Shina began to follow the sound of the voice towards the end of the hallway she had found herself in. "Daddy has a feeling somebody who shouldn't be here is walking around in our little home, and we wouldn't want that to disturb our time together, now would we?" Shina gulped quietly. _'How does he know I'm here?!'_ she thought to herself as footsteps began to ring out from the end of the hall. _'I haven't made any noise or anything to let that... thing... know I'm here!' _Without any more warning, the source of the other voice - Miko's supposed father - flung open the door and immediately directed his glare at Shina, who was suddenly struck with fear.

"Oh! Shina-chan!" Miko called out from behind her 'father', who turned to look back at Miko with a look that Shina could only assume was one of confusion that she actually _knew_ this intruder to their home. "Daddy, this is Shina Tachibana. She's one of the new friends I was talking about." Miko sported a large grin on her face, as if her two favorite people in the world had just met up... and judging from how she was acting over the course of this day, Shina wouldn't be surprised in the least if that were the case. Her 'father' suddenly turned back towards Shina, this time smiling, which seemed to disturb Shina all the more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know my little Miko had come with a friend." he had said in his distinctively distorted voice, albeit it was less distorted than before; Shina could tell that this was not Miko's real father. "My name is Teruji Tabichou, and I want to be your friend too." Teruji stuck out his hand, as if inviting Shina to shake it and immerse herself in the apparent fantasy that Miko was living in right now, but Shina was having none of it.

"You... you aren't human. You're not the real Teruji Tabichou, are you?" Shina spat out, reaching into her uniform to draw the twin knives Masaru had given her before they ended up in this hellish world. Miko looked shocked at Shina's sudden outburst, and Teruji seemed to revert back to his glare. Shina pointed the knife in her left hand at Teruji, who was now fully scowling. "Just who the hell are you?!"

"Shina-chan...?" Miko murmured, just loud enough that both Shina and Teruji could hear. "What do you mean, this isn't my daddy?" Shina couldn't quite answer that question herself, the only clues that she even had were the golden eyes and the distorted voice, and even those could easily be rectified if this... thing... could shapeshift. All of a sudden, Teruji burst into a hysterical laughter, shocking both Miko and Shina, the latter of whom Teruji whipped his head towards.

"Who am I, you ask? Well..." Teruji began, before he was suddenly engulfed in a whirl of purple smoke, which sent of Shina and Miko to their knees coughing violently. When they both managed to look up, what they saw stunned the both of them.

Gone was the large, imposing form of Teruji Tabichou, replaced by a more lithe and small individual. Teruji's long black mane of hair was replaced by a much shorter and messier mass of hair, dyed a piercing dark red that Shina could identify all too well. The suit that Teruji wore was long gone, replaced by something much different - a pair of footy pajamas, with Teruji's face - that Shina noticed had blue eyes - dotted all over, with the figure holding a laptop with T.T. engraved on the top. The figure let out a chuckle in a much more familiar tone of voice for Shina, which made it all the more disconcerting; standing in front of her was a reflection of her new friend, Miko Tabichou, but with golden eyes instead of her usual brown.

**"Why... I'm Miko, of course. Hmhmm." **'Miko' replied with another light chuckle, much to the shock and horror of both the other girls present. Much like Teruji before her, this Miko's voice was heavily distorted, which also served as an obvious hint that this Miko was not the real one. **"You see, I'm hopeless without my dear old Dad. After he left, I bounced around from orphanage to orphanage, never being able to get the same love and affection that he always gave me. But I never gave up; I always went looking for him, hoping that one day I could find my dear old Dad and I could be a normal girl again."** The real Miko's face seemed shocked still, but Shina could tell it was a different kind of shocked; rather, it was one that seemed to indicate to the other Miko that she was dead on.

"N-no! That... that's not..." the real Miko could barely cry out those words before the other one - the fake that she was - broke into another spate of manic laughter before scowling as Miko, a stark contrast from the gleeful look on her face prior.

**"I felt abandoned, hurt... betrayed. It made me feel hopeless, like I could never be close to anyone ever again. And when I came here, I didn't want to get close to anybody, because I felt like they would just _stab me in the back_ again, just like _Dad."_** the other Miko shot out, much more angry than before. **"I hate all these idiots who try to think they can get me? _Nobody gets me! Nobody cares! I! AM!_**_ **NOTHING!**_**" **Shina couldn't take much more of this, and Miko seemed to be at her breaking point as well - both of them.

"N-no! That's a lie!" Miko sputtered out, clutching her head. Shina took the time to look around the room that they were in, and noticed that Miko was on the other end of the room from where Shina was. She had the feeling that something bad was about to happen, when any thoughts she had flowing through her head were shut down completely by three simple words:

"You're not me!"

The other Miko suddenly began engulfed in the same purple smoke from before, but this time with much more coming towards her as she let loose even more distorted laughter. The mansion around them was slowly crumbling, with the landscape turning into something of a nightmare-ish version of the house they had just come out of. **"HAHAHAAAAAAAAH! You've finally said it! You've freed me from this cage I've been locked away in for so long! Too bad you're going right inside it yourself!"**

When the smoke faded, Shina let out a large gasp at what she saw before her. Gone was the imitated form of her friend, Miko, which was replaced by a hulking black dog that seemed to breathe out smoke, with eyes burning like a coal-lit flame. Around it's neck was a collar, but instead of a nametag dangling from it, there was a cage, housing a now terrified Miko, who could only scream and cry for help as the beast let out a deafening roar that knocked Shina back.

**"I am a Shadow... the true self..."** the beast roared out. **"If I can't have anyone loyal to me... then I'll just crush all who stand before me!"** Shadow Miko quickly pulled up one of it's massive legs as if to crush Shina, but she managed to run away at the last second as the gigantic paw came crashing down.

"Shina-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Miko cried out from inside the cage, as Shina continued to run in a circle around the monster as it followed, continuing to attempt to crush her under it's paws. "Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Oh my god... what do I do? What can I do?" Shina could barely gasp out as she fell down while running, while the beast turned towards her, this time reeling back it's head as if to attempt to crush Shina within it's massive jaws. "Miko... Shou... everyone... I'm sorry..." Shina closed her eyes, but quickly re-opened them when she heard a voice ringing through her head.

_"I am thou..." _a card suddenly floated in front of Shina - she could quickly tell it was another one of those tarot cards like Igor had when she was in the Velvet Room that one time. _"...and thou art me." _Shina drew the knives from her coat and stood up confidently, as if guided by some mysterious force, now speaking in tandem with the voice in her head. "From the sea of thy soul, I come..." Then, with time feeling as if it was standing still, she quickly took the knives and slashed the card in an X-pattern, with one more word escaping from her lips.

"Persona!"

Shina was then surrounded by a blue light, with wind billowing up behind her and lightning crashing down. She turned behind her to see just what was going on, and was once again stunned by what she saw. Standing before her now was a large, somewhat dead looking figure with long white hair, a long grey robe and a large scythe as big as itself in it's right hand. In it's left hand, Shina could see a small ball of lightning which likely explained the thunder she heard as she was surrounded by that blue light. Shina still had no idea what was going on, but she found one name coming to her mind as she turned back towards the beast, who now hurled it's head towards Shina, and steeled herself, ready for battle.

"Ankou... go get her!"

Without a word, the figure behind her obliged and darted forward to intercept the beast, sticking it's scythe between it's jaws and then firing itself back, before raising it's hand up to the sky. A split second later, lightning crashed down onto Shadow Miko and seemed to visibly hurt the beast, causing it to howl in pain. Ankou removed it's scythe from Shadow Miko's jaws and slashed the cage that Miko was in, managing to cut the cage right off it Shadow Miko's collar and disintegrate without hurting Miko in the process, as Shadow Miko fell to the ground to try and recuperate. Miko darted towards Shina, simply crying as she tackled her to the ground and squeezing her as if they were the only two people in the entire world.

"Shina-chan! I knew you wouldn't leave me!" Miko cried out as she continued bawling, tears running down her face as she pressed herself tighter on Shina. Shina let out a small sigh; even now, the girl was acting adorable with death breathing down their necks. Miko then suddenly hopped off Shina and pulled her to her feet, as Ankou leapt back towards the two - he was shockingly agile for something that looked so dead. Shina stood up and looked at Miko, affectionately yet serious at the same time.

"Miko..." she began, not sure exactly what to start with. She decided not to dance around the issue, and went straight into the matter at hand. "You really are scared of people betraying you, aren't you? People leaving, coming into your life and going again in the blink of an eye..." Miko began shivering in nervousness, and Shina knelt down again and clasped Miko's hand to get her to stop doing so. "But you have to accept it. That's not betrayal, that's just a fact of life. Your dad may have vanished all those years ago, but if he didn't, you wouldn't be you... a girl who I can safely call my friend, and who I'm laying my life out for right now." Miko rubbed her tear-soaked eyes as her Shadow had managed to get back up.

**"Shut up... shut up... SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" **the beast roared as purple-black flames began to surround Ankou. But when they drew in closer, they had no effect, Ankou was standing strong as ever. **"Argh... what?!"** Miko stood up, as Shina kept her hand tightly wrapped around hers, still smiling to calm Miko - and, arguably, herself.

"You're right, Shina-chan," Miko boldly declared, as the Shadow began to visibly shake and shiver. "I have to move on. I know my daddy's not coming back... but that just means I have to be strong for both of us. Daddy would be so mad if he saw me today, feeling weak." The Shadow howled in pain as it seemed to be becoming unstable. Shina released her hand from Miko's as she pointed her knife at the Shadow before her, expression tensing up once more.

"Ankou! Power Slash!"

Wordlessly, Ankou raised it's scythe and cleaved the Shadow clean in half, as it could do no more than howl in pain one last time before it was surrounded in purple smoke once more and reverted back to the prior form it took: Miko Tabichou. Miko stepped forward and helped the Shadow back to it's feet, with Shina seeming somewhat surprised by just how quickly she had gone back to normal.

"You're right..." Miko began, her Shadow quivering in fear and pain. "I did feel betrayed and unloved after my daddy left... but now I don't have to feel that way anymore." Miko quickly glanced back at Shina, who was once again smiling her supportive smile. "I have friends now, friends who care about me... who will cry and I cry, laugh when I laugh, and protect me when I need protecting..." At that point, Miko stuck her hand out to the Shadow as both Mikos began to smile, "And so do you... me."

Suddenly, the other Miko became engulfed in a bright light much like the one that came up when Ankou was summoned. **"And now, I'll be loyal to you too." **the Shadow said as it suddenly shone and a flash engulfed the area, with Miko's Shadow now gone. In it's place was a smaller version of the black dog that it became when it went berserk, but much more ethereal-looking than before. It was also a much different shade of black than the Shadow was; rather than the jet-black skin it sported before, it was now almost grey, but still managing to look black at the same time. The figure faded away and became a card much like Ankou was - Shina took note that it resembled the Moon card that Igor showed her during her fortune-telling.

"Gytrash... my... Persona...?" Miko stammered out before collapsing backwards into Shina's arms, who managed to catch her from falling before she hit the ground, despite being caught off guard.

"Come on Miko..." Shina said lightly, as she walked back towards the mirror in the horizon. "Let's go home."

* * *

"Gah... dammit!" Masaru suddenly stood up, having finally had enough of everything that was going on. "I'm going in to find them!" he boldly declared as he marched towards the mirror, but was tripped up by Chet. "Hey! What the hell's the big idea!"

"I sense something." Chet replied as the mirror in front of them began to ripple, and Masaru swore that Chet's eyes lit up just a bit brighter when he realized just what was going on. "It's them. Exclamation mark. They have returned. Exclamation mark."

Indeed, strolling through the mirror was Shina, who was carrying a now-unconscious Miko in her arms. Masaru darted towards her to grab Miko, and Shina let out a heavy sigh. "You wouldn't believe what I've gone through, Masaru. I'll have to tell you all about it sometime." Shina gasped out, having to lean on Masaru as she caught her breath. "By the way, thanks for the knives. I think we'll be needing them." Masaru looked confused, but Lucy decided to intervene before Masaru could ask exactly what she meant.

"Can we just get the hell out of here?" she snapped, making Masaru look slightly shocked when he and Shina turned back towards her. Masaru had known Lucy for a while, and she didn't really snap like that; it wasn't in her nature. Shina knew exactly why she was like that, though; they had all been through a lot - admittedly, some more than others - and Lucy was just voicing everybody's thoughts of getting out of there and getting some rest. Shina closed her eyes and nodded, as Chet darted in front of all of them.

"In that case, come with me, humans." Chet stated, as Shina looked down at him. His eyes were a bit brighter than before, but she didn't really know what that meant. "I shall show you the way back to your world. Right this way," he motioned to his left as he took off, with the four Torodara students following behind him.

"Shina..." Lucy began as the group was walking behind Chet in order to get back to their own world. "Is Miko... okay? I mean, she's not dead... right?" Lucy seemed legitimately concerned for the well-being of Miko, but Shina just gave her that same warm smile that she seemed to be wearing a lot over the last day or so.

"Don't worry, Lucy-senpai," Shina replied, marching on ahead of Lucy as she seemed somewhat confused by the sudden shift personality and attitude from before she'd gone into that mirror compared to now. "Miko's just fine. In fact, I'd say she's better than ever." Before they could go into the matter any further, Chet stopped them and pointed at a mirror at the very end of the hall.

"That is the gate to your world. Thank you, humans, for keeping the Shadows from taking another life." Chet stated as Masaru suddenly looked very confused, while at the same time being happy that he was regarded as somewhat heroic. Shina let out a soft gasp of air, and calmly walked towards the mirror and stepping through, Masaru (still holding Miko in his arms) and Lucy following close behind as they returned to the Torodara dormitory for what they hoped would be their first and last excursion into the world beyond the glass.

* * *

HURR TITLE DROP HURR

Also, Chet is a walking reference to a certain boss in a certain awesome-as-shit Wii game. Hopefully someone catches it and the other stealth reference I tossed in there.

So yeah, two awakenings and a boss fight. Nifty. Next chapter will likely be exposition and a bit of light-hearted stuff after the SRS BUSINESS that is this chapter.

As usual, R&R.


	6. Chapter 5: Recovery

hay.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Recovery**

_April 12th, 2014, 7:10 AM_

_Torodara Dormitory, 3rd Floor_

"Hnn..." Shina groaned out as she groggily opened her eyes, blinking several times in an attempt to grasp just where exactly she ended up. The last she could remember, she had jumped inside a mirror and fought a giant dog that had Miko in a cage on its collar... _'God, I need to see a psychologist.' _Shina thought to herself as she brought the memory back up to the front of her mind.

_'Wait... Miko!' _Shina frantically tried to get herself dressed and cleaned up prior to school, all the while frantically worrying about Miko. She grabbed her bags and rushed towards the door... which was flung open from the other side by a short young girl with a charming grin, smashing the door against Shina's face.

"Goooooooooooooooooooood morning, Shina-chan!" Miko cried out with her glowing grin still plastered on her face, before noticing Shina wasn't standing in the doorway. "Er... Shina-chan?" Miko peeked her head in the door, looking the room around for Shina, who'd been sandwiched in between the door and the wall.

"I'm... right... here..." Shina groaned out, pushing the door off of her and rubbing her nose in case the door had gotten it dirty. _'Huh... she sure is energetic for someone who nearly died yesterday...' _Shina thought as she stepped into Miko's line of sight, as the smaller girl's grin grew even wider.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Miko squeaked out, along with her face turning just the slightest bit pink. Shina seemed somewhat touched by her genuine concern, especially since Shina was the one who should have been concerned for Miko. "I was afraid you got hurt because of me..." Miko's head sank, as Shina realised exactly why Miko seemed so happy that she was okay. Shina let out a soft chuckle and gently patted Miko on the head, prompting her face to turn bright pink.

"Oh, Miko..." Shina said quietly, as she heard some rustling from the next room over; presumably Machina or Lucy had just gotten up and was going through their morning routine. "I'm not upset with you by any means. You were in danger and I kept you out of it. You're probably the only friend I've got here, and I don't want anything to happen to you." Miko could feel herself getting hotter in the face as Shina's face changed to a look of concern for her friend.

"R-r-really Sh-Shina-chan?" Miko sputtered out, trying to back out of Shina's bedroom in a hurry. "W-well, thank you! I-I'll see you at school, okay?" Before Shina could answer, Miko took off down the stairs, as Lucy exited her bedroom with a towel on her head as well as one covering up the rest of her.

"Huh..." Lucy began, twirling her hair with a battery-powered curler she had brought out into the hall with her, steam wafting out from her bedroom. "What's up with her?" Shina simply let out a quick giggle, as Lucy soon followed suit. "Y'know, you really were something else last night. Like... you were a totally different person from the wreck you were when we first met." Lucy told Shina, giggling at the end as Shina lifted an eyebrow in mild annoyance.

"Well... thank you for that, even if it was a bit... rude, towards the end." Shina replied, as Lucy smiled back. _'Clearly these girls are going to make this year a lot better...'_ Shina mused to herself as she strode back into her room and grabbed her things. _'But those things... those... Shadows, I think they were called? They're going to make it hard at the same time... I'll need to be ready.' _Shina decided that it wasn't the right time to think of that and walked down the stairs.

* * *

Quick little chapter to get this updated. meh.


End file.
